Mechwarrior fans rejoice. MWO is finally in open beta. Interest players can sign up at their website here: http://mwomercs.com/signup?utm_source=mainMENU With Hawken also on the horizon, mech fans have a lot to look forward to. These games are also free to play.
Beta's have started to become a sort of demo for testers, as well as for YouTubers to get the word out. This is different from the days when beta was held to test the game before launch. Such testing is now reserved for closed beta. This is especially so for free-to-play games, where it is not uncommon for a player's progress to be carried from beta into the complete game, giving them a head start. But then again, anyone who is interested in the game would have joined in the open beta anyway. I guess free-to-play games can take this route because they are going to get into the hands of gamers free anyway, so there's no worry of letting players play too much and as a result, they don't buy the game.
There generally shouldn't be an issue in this shift of focus of the beta test, except when a game developer decide to use the beta as it was originally meant to be - as a test for bugs in the game. What is also often seen among gamers is whining and crying about not being able to get into beta. Gamers now see beta as a chance to play the game before anybody else, often overlooking the true purpose. As a result, when things don't work as they should in such cases, there are actually some who will go out of their way to bash the game and paint it in a negative light. So while it is true that most developers have now polished up their game, do note that there will be bugs. So have fun, but don't let the presence of bugs affect your impression of the game.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Wii U making things hard for Nintendo fans?
Following its announcement that the Wii U will be region locked, Nintendo has revealed that the system's voice chat will be limited to certain games, and will only work through the use of third party microphone plugged into the GamePad. With the basic set having only 8gb of hard disk space and the buzz regarding the system's lack of improvement over the current generation's consoles, it makes one wonder if even catering to hardcore gamers will help market the system to people other than Nintendo fans.
I was this close to making this the first console that I get on launch, partially due to the interesting launch line-up but mainly because it's backwards compatible (which is extremely important in the first few months of a console's life when games are few), but the region locking turned me away.
Perhaps I'm spoilt because I own a PS3, and the ability to play games from different regions allowed me to freely import and play games that are not ported over to the US system. That plus the sour taste the Wii left me when Fatal Frame 4 did not reach the US, and Fatal Frame, or Project Zero 2 was only released in Europe. The last few great games for the Wii, The Last Story and Xenoblade Chronicles took so long to be ported I lost interest in the system and games.
I've been reading on the reasons for region locking. Apparently it prevents people from purchasing games from 'cheaper' regions and also from importing a new release before it's been ported to their region. The benefits to this are purely for the local publishers responsible for the porting. The first reason can't be solved otherwise, but if the local version is readily available, most people would buy that instead, considering the language issues. As for the second reason, if developers can control the sale of their games and have world-wide releases, can't they also ensure the ports of different regions are already done before the release of the games?
It's curious that during this age of digital distribution, blue-ray and online connectivity that Nintendo would still stick to these 2 generations-old practices. Is this company really the innovative company that brought us the touchscreen and motion control?
I was this close to making this the first console that I get on launch, partially due to the interesting launch line-up but mainly because it's backwards compatible (which is extremely important in the first few months of a console's life when games are few), but the region locking turned me away.
Perhaps I'm spoilt because I own a PS3, and the ability to play games from different regions allowed me to freely import and play games that are not ported over to the US system. That plus the sour taste the Wii left me when Fatal Frame 4 did not reach the US, and Fatal Frame, or Project Zero 2 was only released in Europe. The last few great games for the Wii, The Last Story and Xenoblade Chronicles took so long to be ported I lost interest in the system and games.
I've been reading on the reasons for region locking. Apparently it prevents people from purchasing games from 'cheaper' regions and also from importing a new release before it's been ported to their region. The benefits to this are purely for the local publishers responsible for the porting. The first reason can't be solved otherwise, but if the local version is readily available, most people would buy that instead, considering the language issues. As for the second reason, if developers can control the sale of their games and have world-wide releases, can't they also ensure the ports of different regions are already done before the release of the games?
It's curious that during this age of digital distribution, blue-ray and online connectivity that Nintendo would still stick to these 2 generations-old practices. Is this company really the innovative company that brought us the touchscreen and motion control?
Sunday, October 7, 2012
XCOM: Enemy Unknown Remake Seems like a Worthy Successor
The new XCOM might be worth checking out, if you haven't pre-ordered it that is.
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